The Siddhidata Kulam has been steadily crafting a beautiful wood edge to wrap around the top of their fish tank for providing a balance to the base and cabinets underneath. Nityashankaran Mogan from Malaysia helped when he was here in March/April. Well, it’s finally been completed and is now installed on top of the tank, looking stately.
Fish Tank Top Border Completed Read More »
The road construction is complete! Two sections were added to tie it to the road coming down from the main Aadheenam buildings. Drainage pipes were also installed underneath in strategic locations. The concrete contractor team did a great job and persevered despite the challenge of persistent rain on one day. For their good work, they were given a bonus and a case of noni juice, for which they were very thankful.
Within a few months, a second team will begin installing quartzite tile on top of the concrete.
Iraivan Temple Circumambulation Road Completed Read More »
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami gives his weekly upadesha in Kadavul Temple at Kauai’s Hindu Monastery in Hawaii. It is part of a series of talks elaborating on the inspired teachings of Satguru Śivaya Subramuniyaswami as found in his book Merging With Śiva.
“We have been walking through the path of the many Śaiva saints on our garden temple lands. Together we have looked back through history and seen real people living real lives, doing pragmatic things, sometimes foolish things, some even hurtful. There were workers among them, royalty, housewives, yogīs, businessmen, a spiritual community divided by caste but with one thing only in common. They all loved Śiva. That is their heritage. That is their message: that there is hope for all of us on this path to Śiva, hope of attaining His grace. These men and women will be remembered as they were for thousands of years. On this path, you don’t have to be a great ṛishi or a highly trained yogī. You don’t have to be a great philosopher. You don’t have to know Sanskrit. Just love God, which is the Life of the life within everyone. And to realize that God is the Light of the light within everyone, you have to be very simple, very uncomplicated, so that obvious realization can manifest through your conscious mind, through your subconscious mind, through your superconscious mind.“
How to Realize God, Part Four Read More »
The contractor team is close to two thirds done with building the eight-food-wide road around Iraivan Temple. They started at the front entrance with the apron connecting hillside steps to the granite staircase, and have since been working their way around both sides of the temple at once. Three concrete trucks came a couple days ago, four yesterday, two more tomorrow, and some more will come several days after that.
Road Around Iraivan Temple Progressing Well Read More »
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami gives his weekly upadesha in Kadavul Temple at Kauai’s Hindu Monastery in Hawaii. It is part of a series of talks elaborating on the inspired teachings of Satguru Śivaya Subramuniyaswami as found in his book Merging With Śiva.
“We must live in the now to follow the path to enlightenment. In the lower realms of the mind, where time and space seem very real, we are worried about the past or concerned about the future. These two intermingle and limit conscious awareness. Living in the past or the future obstructs us in this way: the past, by reliving old experiences—mainly the negative ones, for they are vividly remembered—clouds our vision of the future. Living in the future overactivates the intellect, the emotion and the desires. The future is little more than another form of mental fantasy. Past and future are equally unreal and a hindrance to spiritual unfoldment. A person functioning in the now is in control of his own mind. He is naturally happier, more successful. He is performing every task with his fullest attention, and the rewards are to be seen equally in the quality of his work and the radiance of his face. He cannot be bored with anything he does, however simple or mundane. Everything is interesting, challenging, fulfilling. A person living fully in the now is a content person.“
How to Realize God, Part Three Read More »
A contractor team has arrived to begin two to three weeks of work to create a concrete road around Iraivan Temple, replacing the temporary crushed asphalt we have there now. Some time after they are done, another team will cover the road with quartzite tile. Besides allowing vehicles to conveniently drive around, the road can serve as a circumambulation path for pilgrims doing sadhana, and occasional parades.
Today the main focus was to dig out the area that will connect the stairs coming up the hill to the temple granite staircase, where more technical precision is needed to ensure that the eventual quartzite tile layer will be at just the right height next to the first granite stair. They will pour this area on its own first, then the rest of the road later.
Auspiciously, today also happened to be the monthly Gurudeva Chitra pada puja.
Also, we continue to have a flock of nene geese moving about the property.
Iraivan Temple Road Day One, & Chitra Puja Read More »
